Synthesis and Characterization of a Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Cholesteryl Nonanoate

Abstract

A cholesteric liquid crystal cholesteryl nonanoate was synthesized and then characterized by means of differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy. As temperature decreased from its clearing point, cholesteric phase was formed for cholesteryl nonanoate and accompanied by continuous evolution of colors in the focal conic textures. Furthermore, beautiful spherulite crystals were observed to grow out of the cholesteric phase as the crystallization continued. The evolution of the colors in recorded textures was contributed to temperature-dependent selective reflection of the liquid crystal.